Given that only porn industry folks were there and fans weren’t able to hear the speeches, I want to let everyone know how we determined the winners, specifically Best Selling DVD (Michelle Thorne: Pushing Boundaries) and Your Choice Girl of the Year (Samantha Bentley).

First and foremost, it was based entirely on statistics.

Best Selling DVD is pretty simple. It was calculated using the total sales at Your Choice (both mail-order and our retail site) of British productions during the period of 1 August 2014 through 31 July 2015 for releases in a similar period.

To qualify as a “British production,” (as categorised on our retail website) it must either be primarily shot in the UK, shot by a UK producer, and/or feature primarily British talent.

Determining the Your Choice Girl of the Year was a little more complicated, but still quite clear and easy.

We took the top ten, best-selling British DVDs (same sales period as above) and compiled all of the credited performances among female actresses. The performer with the most credits among those DVDs was the winner. And for the record, the nominees didn’t actually have to be British by birth. Tiffany Doll is French after all. But she did appear prominently in best-selling British productions. As such, she received a nomination.

That said, congrats to Michelle and Samantha and all the nominees. You deserve these awards, no doubt.

We’re very, very proud of you all.

And here’s a salute to all of the nominees and winners last night. At risk of sounding trite, the UK porn biz just wouldn’t be the same without you.

My boss (who may or not be checking in here over the next week or so) told me at one point that he wanted to see more of my editorial-type stuff here, so here it goes.

More often times than not, when I read/hear/watch an anti-porn viewpoint, whether it’s coming from the perspective of social conservatism, feminism or some other -ism, concerns of widespread exploitation of performers enters the mix.

It tugs at the ol’ heartstrings, doesn’t it?

The problem is that I’ve never seen any real data to back up such claims. Instead, we hear anecdotes from former performers who went through difficult times before, during and/or after their careers as adult film actors.

And those anecdotes are used in large part because there isn’t really any reliable data on the subject.

So until the time is such that a real study is done with proper method by qualified persons, let’s just go ahead and talk anecdotes.

I’ve met and interacted with a lot of performers (dozens and dozens) since the early 2000’s, mostly women and men who perform girl-girl and boy-girl scenes. And through that entire time, I’ve only met one whom I believe was truly being exploited.

I won’t mention names, but she was a very big star. But she was known to have serious addiction issues and was by all accounts in an abusive relationship. And what I saw the day I met her supported those claims.

But beyond that one woman, I can’t honestly think of another.

That doesn’t mean it never happens. I’m sure it does. And that includes the ‘gay’ side of things.

But is there an epidemic of lost men and women in legal, mainstream porn production who are being used, abused, and coerced?

My answer is no.

In fact, I believe there’s a solid argument to be made that other industries, particularly retail, food service and the corporate realm, employees are systematically exploited more than adult performers.

But that’s another conversation.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that I believe everyone who decides to model in porn films has really thought it through carefully. I’m not going to tell you that there aren’t models performing extreme sex acts specifically because it pays more.

I’m not going to tell you that everyone who acts in porn movies are happy with their job. And I’m not going to tell you that every single member of the porn performing community has their head screwed on straight.

But does that mean exploitation is widespread?

I say no.

What I can say, from my extensive experience, is this:

Most of the porn performers I’ve met, especially the ones who are successful, seem to be well-adjusted, thoughtful, brave, intelligent, healthy people who simply see the world differently than the ilk that tend to criticise them. They celebrate themselves in ways many of us never could.

To the critics, I say this…

You can detest porn all you like. You can make all the anecdotal, unfounded claims you like.

But I ask this…

When you look back on your own life- your past and present- who has been more exploited? The people who willingly act in pornographic films without shame and are paid excellent wages to do so? Or you?

Something tells me that if you’re honest with yourself, you may be surprised by your answer.-SMcG

Let’s start by saying this; Jasmine Jae is clearly one of the hardest working Brit girls on the international scene. And it seems possible that she doesn’t get all the kudos/recognition she really deserves.

For the past couple of years, I’ve seen her popping everywhere – British films, European productions, and more recently, American movies. During my last trip to the UK, it was a pleasant surprise to see her on the phone chat channels.

I’ve yet to meet her, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that she’s made the adult industry her career and she takes her work seriously.

She’s more than worthy of any praise she gets. And I say that as both a professional in the porn business and a fan of the product.

Lily has a knack for making movies that focus on power games. Lesbian Lock Up is a classic example. No, these films don’t boast huge budgets or even employ particularly sophisticated production methods.

But I buy-in to what I’m watching. I’m actually capable of suspending disbelief for long enough to get all hot and frothy – something I think is very rare in feature or vignette-styled movies.

I also want to point out that sometimes there’s a big to-do in porn about “[insert performer name here]’s first [insert sex act here].”

But seeing Lily penetrated by Jess Gatsby’s strap-on cock is something any true fan of lesbian porn should see.

I’d also like to point out an excellent all-round performance by Jessica Ryan as the good cop to Lily’s bad cop. Jessica’s done a good amount of work (including some rough/extreme stuff) in both boy/girl and girl/girl and definitely worth a look.

And Lily, if you’re reading this (as I know you sometimes do), thanks for making these films. The idea of getting something a little more authentic (even in the context of a cops and baddies fantasy) is insanely arousing. Thanks for doing what you do.

At least, we do our best. At Your Choice, we’re fans first. We genuinely love porn (thus the name of our blog) and we don’t like scam artists.

Unfortunately, over the course of my 15 some odd years in porn, there have always been some studios out there trying to make a few quid the easy way; with no regard for the audience they are supposed to serve.

During one of our screening sessions (where we try to weed out the faff), we ran across a studio that was clearly cutting corners and duplicating scenes across different DVD’s. So you might buy one of their movies, only to see one of those scenes again later in another film that isn’t clearly labeled as a compilation or the like.

In one of the movies where I personally caught them in the act, the studio/supplier claimed that the scene in question was supposed to be a bonus scene.

But I can tell you that’s a load of horse shit based on how that movie was marketed.

So, knowing these guys are either A) dishonest as all fuck, B) incompetent as all fuck, or C) a little of both, we won’t be offering any more of their films.

I won’t lie, he’s never been one of my personal favourites, but that’s neither here nor there.

What is important is that he’s one of the most prolific and influential male performers in history, and nothing could ever take that away from him. Dare I say, he laid the ground work for the rough sex genre as we know it.

He fucks like he means it. He’s been a source of controversy while simultaneously being celebrated.

But there’s a part of me that’s glad to see him retire from performing.

There have, unfortunately, been great studs that overstayed their welcome. Guys that clearly couldn’t live up to their own legend and become something of a joke – either in a way that appeared to be on purpose or otherwise.

By giving it up at this age (nearly 51 years), we won’t see him fade into a shadow of his former self. We won’t have to see him desperately trying to hold his alpha status when he’s clearly been passed-by.

We get to remember him like he is, one of the greats. As they say, a man women want, and that other men want to be.

Thanks for the fine performances, Rocco.

That said, here’s the trailer for my favourite film of his in recent memory – Rocco’s Perfect Slaves #2. Granted, it has more to do with the performances put in by Sam Bentley and Alina Henessy than Rocco himself, but it’s brilliant stuff now matter how you wanna look at it.

In the nearly 15 years I’ve been involved in the porn business, the pro-am sub-category of amateur porn is one I’ve rarely seen executed well. I don’t know why that’s the case either. It seems like an easy formula. Cute, fresh-faced newbie + experienced and reliable stud + competent director = fun porno. But it’s clearly not that simple.

I guess part of the problem is that the directors often fancy themselves to have the gift of gab with these girls, and that’s just not the case. I love interview segments with new girls when they’re done well, but most of the time…

…again. Ugh.

James Deen’s hit the mark with Amateur Applications, though. Instead of the standard interview with the girls as a lead-in, he actually talks to them like human beings.

So that helps.

And then when it comes time to start banging, they do. Nothing about this show feels formulaic. Each pairing comes off like two people who actually want to fuck each other doing just that. The camera is not a character in the scene. It’s just there doing what it does. Recording. And it doesn’t intrude on the fun being had.

For reference, the full cast includes Amy Riskowitz, Diana Colton, Ella Nova, Yhivi, Jay Taylor, and of course, James Deen.

Take a look at the preview below and I think you’ll agree.

You’ll also agree that Jay Taylor is cute enough to make a Ford man drive a Fiat. Damn. Just. Damn.